Post navigation

Happy Father’s Day! If you’re a dad, I hope you’re having a blessed day with your family.

The girls and I went to Ann Arbor Arms to try to find a gift for Phil that he would actually like and use. This was my first time at Ann Arbor Arms.

When we got there, we were impressed with their beautiful new building. It’s large, with lots of brick, glass, and brushed nickel, with an open, airy layout. Clearly they thought about how to appeal to a wider range of clientele than might normally frequent the grubby little hole-in-the-wall type of gun shops (not that there is anything wrong with those shops, but they might be off putting to some clientele, especially of the female variety).

There was a variety of types of people working there. We chose to approach a friendly-looking young woman and ask her opinion about what to get my husband. We were thinking of purchasing some range time for him as Ann Arbor Arms really invested a great deal in building their ranges and they are considered to be top notch. They even have a special state-of-the-art tactical bay which allows you to train for real-life personal defense scenarios.

The young woman showed us the package specials they were running for Father’s Day, and we chose this one:

Ann Arbor Arms runs quite a few classes for novices up through more advanced shooters, including classes geared toward women. They have a wide range of gear and emergency preparedness supplies, and my husband says their prices on firearms are excellent. All in all, our experience was very positive and I do recommend this shop highly (I received no compensation or special favors from them; this review is just my honest opinion).

So of course you will notice that the package is for two people. This has led to some discussion as to whom Phil would choose to take with him. Naturally I thought it was my right as his wife to go, but the girls feel that because it’s Father’s Day, not Husband’s Day, one of them should get to go. I guess I can kind of see their point. He hasn’t picked one of us yet, but I suspect he will choose our eldest daughter to go with him.

This made me think of a small debate about females shooting guns that occurred on Dalrock’s blog in the comments section. Several people took the stance that letting one’s wife or daughters shoot is an unfeminine and unacceptable activity. Other people said that women need to be able to defend themselves when they don’t have their husbands or fathers with them. Everyone agreed that the trope of the conservative-feminist kick-ass tough girl who out-shoots all the boys is super annoying.

What it comes down to is that every man has to decide for himself what he thinks is the right thing for his wife and daughters, but he doesn’t have the right to tell another man what is correct for that man’s wife and daughters. The whole point about a man being the head of his household is that he makes the right decisions that are best for his own family. There is nothing in God’s law that prohibits females from learning how to use guns, so it is a matter of each man’s own personal preference. If you don’t want your women to shoot, then don’t let them shoot. If someone else wants his daughters and wife to know how to use a firearm for personal defense or for recreational target shooting, that is none of your concern.

For girls who currently have no man in charge of them, I would definitely advise them to learn how to safely use a firearm. It is not only a fun recreational sport, but also a highly useful skill. Just keep a humble attitude and don’t be a show off about that skill. I have observed that more men than not appreciate women being able to take care of themselves when their husband or father is not present. For us personally, recreational target shooting has been an activity that we enjoy doing both together and separately and (Heaven forbid it should ever happen) in an emergency personal defense situation, Phil likes knowing that I will have his back to the best of my ability if he ever needs me to.

But whatever your personal stance on the shooting sports and their appropriateness for females, I wish any fathers reading this the happiest of days!

Hi Sinshine. I hope all is well. Not sure if Scott weighed in on the discussion on Dalrocks post. He has taught me from the very earliest moments of our marriage to shoot. I’ve fired all of our guns & am comfortable with most. That being said I don’t feel like nor do I want to be Laura Croft or GI Jane. I think it’s important for all family members to learn to handle, respect & fire guns. When Kenna is old enough we’ll (Scott will) teach her to shoot. It’s an important skill both for self defense & for farming/ranching. What a great gift for your daughter to give & ultimately receive from her dad.

Perhaps because most feminists are urban and single, they are disinclined to getting into firearms. Then they see men having fun with them and find reasons to outlaw them.
As far as teaching women, why not?
While I support your right to arm bears, there are limits.